Sign



June 24 J. W. SNELL SIGN Filed April 15. 1923 license plate Patented.lune 24, i924. ET

JOSEPH W. SHELL, 0F HILTON', ONTARIO, CANADA.

SIGN.

Application filed April 13, 1923. Serial No. 631,946.

To all whom t may concern.: l

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. SNnLL, a citizen of the United States,Hamilton, in the Province of Ontario,

anada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Signs, ofv which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to metal signs, lsuch as are used yonautomobiles, doorplates and the like, and consists in a sign structurecomposed of a supporting bar and separate letter or character members,which can be assembled on the supporting bar as desired and then berigidly secured in place by a simple operation, so that there will be nodanger of their rattling or becoming loose or displaced.

An object ofthe invention is to enable any desired word or set ofnumbers to be easily assembled to form a desired sign which, whencompleted, will be as solid and rigid as if made of one integral pieceof metal.

Another object is to provide means for securing such a built-up sign tothe license plate of an automobile, and to provide modified means forsecuring a plurality of such signs together to be used as an oflice ordesk name-plate, and similar purposes.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is a face view of an automobile or tag, with one Vof myimproved letter signs secured to the top edge thereof.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section of the same on the line 2`2 ofFigure l.

Figure 8 is a horizontal section on the line 3*?) of Figure 1.

AFigure 4 is a partial perspective view of the supporting member or bar.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the letter members.

Figure 6 is a similar view of an end member of the sign, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of clip for securingtwo of the signs to a sup-port. p In Figure 1, a license plate 1 of anordinary type is shown, provided as usual with slots 2Vfor securingbolts. Above the plate 1, as shown, is mounted one of my adjustableletter or built-up signs 5, spelling the word Cleveland, for example,and secured to the plate 1 by means of two sheet-metal clips 3,

residing at formed as shown in Figure 2 and held to said plate by bolts4, passed through slots 2 and holes or Slots 11 in the clips.

he supporting member of the sign is best illustrated in Figure 4. Itconsists of a sheet metal bar 6, having its longitudinal edges bent overand inward to form flanges 7 and provided with a central longitudinalgroove forming a bulge 8 on the same side The width of said bulge it mayextend entirely across the bar from one flange to the other, if desired.

The letter or character members are best illustrated in Figure 5, inwhich it will be seen that each of these members is a short sheet-metalplate 9, bearing `on its face the character, and having its upper and-lower edges bent over, inward and back to form flanges l0. The flanges10 are so shaped that they can be slid over the flanges 7 of the bar 6and enclose the' same, as shown in Figure 2, so that any desiredcombination of character members can be assembled on the bar orsupporting member, which is cut to the required length, and then thethus loosely assembled sign is-completed by applying pressure,preferably by rolls, to flatten down the interengaged flanges, andsimultaneously flatten out the bulge 8, which naturally forces theflanges of the bar apart and binds the character members to it, thesecuring being further completed by the flattening of the combinededges, so that the whole forms a rigid structure and there will be nodanger of rattling. To complete the sign, en d pieces 12, see Figure 6,are or may be used, they being made similarly to` the character members,but being also provided with an end flange 13, in addition t0 thelongitudinal flanges 14. The end piece, shown in Figure 6, has also anend tab' or lug l5, by which the sign can be attached to a support, aswhen the sign is used on a house or door, for example. Where the clips 3are used, the end pieces need not have these tabs 15. The clip shown inFig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 1 is for holding one of the signsonly, as when it is used in connection with an automobile license plate,while the clip shown in Fig. 7 is used when two (or more) of thebuilt-up signs are vused together as a name-plate or the like. In thiscase, the ends of the clip 16 are bent over to form hooks 17 and 18 andthe side .edges areleut out and slit as shown, the slit portions havingtheir free ends bent over in opposite directionsto form hooks 18, onecooperating with the hooks 18 4at the top end and the other with thehooks or flange 17 at the bottom end. If desired a lug 19 is left at thetop end -b which the assembled sign can be suspende Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim is:

1. A built-up sign, comprising a supporting bar member having itslongitudinal edges bent over and a central longitudinal "bulge,individual character members having their edges bent over to' fit the edes of` said bar, whereby pressure on said ulge and edges rigidly securesthe parts together, and means to attach the sign to a support.

2. A si composed of a bar having a central longitudinal bulge, andseparate character members having flanges to slidably fit the edges ofsaid bar, said members being adapted to be rigidly secured together byflattening out said bulge.

3. A name sign for automobiles, consistin of individual 'charactermembers slidab y assembled on a supporting bar, the latter having acentralv longitudinal bulge which', when flattened out, vrigidly securessaid character members in place, and clips engaging the upper and loweredges of the sign and provided with means for attache ment to a licenseplate.

4. A built-up sign, consisting of a backing bar having top and Abottomflanges and a central bulge, character members having top and bottomflanges adapted to enclose said bar flanges and enable'said members tobe assembled by sliding the character members on said bar, end membershaving similar anges to those of said character members and in additioneach au end ilange to en Lacasse! close the ends of said bar, the Wholebeing made rigid by pressure ap lied to said bulge and to saidinterengaged anges, and means to secure the completed sign to asupporting structure.

5. A sign composed of a plurality of sheet metal members bearingsymbols, the top and bottom edges of said members being bent or curledover and inward, and a supporting or backing bar for said assembledmembers having a central longitudinal bulge, the top and bottom edges ofsaid bar being bent over so as to slidably t within the said edges ofsaid members, whereby the sign can be made into a rigid structure bycompressing the vsaid interengaged edges and simultaneously flatteningsaid bulge.

6. A slgn comprising a back bar slightly curved transversely and havingits longitudinal edges bent over, a plurality of character membershaving their edges bent over so as to slidably fit over said bar and berigidly secured thereto by the folding down of the engaged edges, andclips for mounting the sign on a support, each clip consisting of astrip having means for engaging the longitudinal ed es of the sign.

7. A bul t-up sign, comprising two` supporting bars, a plurality ofcharacter members mounted on each bar and secured there to by foldingover the engaged longitudinal vedges of said members and bar, and clipsto hold said bars in rigid relation, each clip consisting of a strip ofmetal having its ends bent over to form hooks and its side edges cut outand slitted, the slit portions having their free ends bent over inopposite direc-y tions to form hooks cooperating respectively with saidend hooks. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH W. SNELL.

